The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-06-23
STAUNTON. VIRGINIA. JUNE %, 1887.

States referred TO, some members OF thu
It Labor Committee, previously hostile. nj
i longer opposed its consideration, and afte
O much delay on regular cali of committee
4 the bill had the opportunity and right to bt
q considered. Thereupon q faction Of the
j. House, including its parliamentary an(
: political leadership, under lead of Carlisle
e Randall. Morrison, Springer and others
>. tiibusteTed during the time allotted to thu
a committee, and thus prevented action Of
the House on it's merits, so that actor
e became impossible unless some new metho(
$ were devised by which two-thirds of the
members could carry out their purpose
!. 1t should be observed that Oh the first
n vote on the question the friends were l66
while opponents under the leadership
!, above mentioned could muster but rs, Of
q whom only one was Republican, White OF
a Minnesota.
4 The Committee on Rules of the House
is the most autocratic and dangerous fea
: ture of our Government; in fact, it has
s accomplished a practical! revolution in oul
form oG g2ge.rI .n,s,. aud constitutes al
olgarrIly III the asisatiye department.
Should It sHr UP " an l5.itt5i21assss "
serupulous and selfish parti5ans, the mis-
chief itwould perform would be only mea-
sured by its power. 1t consists of five
members, of which the Speaker is chair
man eX-oflicio the other members Of the
majority were Mr.. Randall and Mr.. Nor
rio, ba Mr.
Reed and Mr.. Hiscock. This committee
has power to report any matter at any
time, and thus has power to pass or kill
whatever it chooses.
This power, taken in connection with
that Of the Speaker to refuse recognition
to any member who will! not first promise
to move no measure opposed by the Speak
er, places the whole legislation of the
country in the hands Of a few men.
The power OF the committee being eX-
hausted, as above explained, Mr.. Willis
and others sent resolutions asking them to
report a day for the consideration of the
Education bill, some five Or six weeks be-
fore the close of the term, in ample time
to have it brought before the House and
passed. The three Democrats of the com
mittee refused, the Republicans favored
it,
Not only did the Committee on Rules
refuse to report a resolution fer consider
ing the bill directly, but for weeks they
refused, against the utmost opportunities
of friends of other measures, to report a
Jax For 10 Of oil
because they discovered that friends of the
Education bill proposed whenever any re-
port was made, to move, as would have
been their right, to amend report by also
fixing q day for its consideration so, as
one of these men said, their only way to
defeat the Education bill was to refuse to
report anything for if the House once
got possession OF it, the bill would go
through.
+ They thus defeated the manifest will of
the House as shown by a two thirds vote
on other occasions they ignored the will
OF the people as shown in the memorials of
legislatures, and of religious and educa-
tional bodies, and of the 100000 members
OF the w G. T. u, and the Teachers AS
socla'A--s of n1e.a than 800 enc members
through their special committees and rep
resentatiyes. These ere reinforced by
more than one million actual signatures of
the best people of the country, represent
ing two million persons Of every State
and territory in the Union, and thousands
of letters and other forms of personal ap-
peal.
These three men each obstinately re-
fused to report a day to hear the Education
BILL Any one of them, joining with the
two Republicans, could have been the
means of passing the bill by a two-thirds
vote, when even a veto (Which have no
reason to apprehend) could not prevent its
becoming law. No other possible way
existed to reach the bill but by a motion to
suspend the rules and pass it, which would
require a two thirds vote but the Speaker
refused to recognize any one for that pur-
pose.
Thus the sovereign power lodged in the
Committee on Rules and Speaker of the
| House for the purpose Of enabling the ma
| iority the better to carry out its will, was
persistently and successfully used to thwart
the manifest purpose of the House, and to
kill one of the most benefcent measures
ever pending in Congress.
| twas most perious and nagrant man
Hesitation of the dangerous. and, to some
| extent, secret forces which are at work to
prevent any national, though temporary
assistance to the common schools of this |
| country.
There is more in this than l now care to |
state, and it is high time for the American
people to give attention to the influences
| which are at work for the destruction of |
the free school system.
The measure will be reintroduced into |
the Senate, and probably into the House, |
upon the assembling of the Fiftieth Con-
gress and, | think, in spite of all OPPOSE
ton, it will pass both Houses by more than |
a two thirds vote and become law